Evening Star Newspaper, August 5, 1923, Page 25

EDITORIAL PAGE —_— NATIONAL PROBLEMS SPECIAL ARTICLES Part 2—24 Pages NEW BUREAU PRESIDENT PROPOSED Would Take All Routine Business Off Shoulders of Chief Executive, Relieving Strain. BY WILL P. KENNEDY. RESIDENT HARDING'S break- down. which is directly at- tributed to the severe physical strain of his 15,000-mile trip with more than score of set speeches, again brings up the pro- Pposal which is recurrently heard that some agency should be sct up elther in the form of an assistant president or a bureau of general administra- tion which would relieve the chiet executive from all routine busines: Of course, there are those who con- tend that it long tours, during which the President must always be on exhibition, showing himself day or night to the throngs at practically every railroad station, that wears down his physical vitality “Let him stay in the White House where he belong. instead of traveling all over the country,” these captious crities say But President Harding, as did President Wilson before him, and President Taft and President Roose- velt, realized that it is quite natural for the people everywhere throughout the country to want to see and hear their President. and they have each in turn made long trips through the country - because they felt that by personally addressing the people they could carry their messages more con- vineingly and win stauncher support for the administration policies Need Is Assistants. auite evident to those who an opportunity to crve the quadrennial change of administration that the wheels of government mu- chincry must keep moving just the same while executives come and go. With provision made for some sort of a general business manager, or office of management. the business of government could continue just as cfficiently, leaving the President free to deal with matters of major policy and to meet people of the country when they visit the White House or when ‘he thinks it expedient to go hefore them in their home communi- ties. With the President thus freed from all routine work he could make more frequen shorter and le physically hazardous trips to keep in touch with the sovereign people. This proposal for executive man- agement that will relieve the Presi- dent from the growing volume of work in the White House which al- ready would tax the strongest ph sique, is before the joint congres- ional committee on reorganization The Institute for Government Re- search, organized in 1916, which is an association of citizens for co-operat- ing with public officials in the s entific study of government with a view to promoting efficiency and economy in its operations and ad- vancing the science of administration, supports this recommendation. This institute aims to bring into existence such information and materfals as will aid in the formation of public opinion and will assist officials, par- ticularly those of the national go ernment in their efforts to put the public administration upon a more efficient bas curious is obsy Bureau of Administration. In its recommendations on the re- organization of the national goverr- ment first made in March, 1921, when the present budget system was still in the legislative mill, bureau general administration in the execu- tive office was urged report advised that provision be made for such a subordinate service which would absorb the existing independ- ent establishment, the bureau of effi- ciency. i difficult to exaggerate the importance of having this action taken if the administrative branch of the national government is to be put upon a really efficient basis.” the re- port of the institute sa In a way the fundamental cnd sought by both the movement for putting the admin- istration of the financial affairs of the government upon a scientific bud- getary basis. and for reorganizing the administrative services of the government so as to make the system of organization one conforming to the correct principles of an integrated system, is that of making it pessible for the President efficiently to per- form his duties as head of- the ad- ministration. “The theory underlying both of these reforms is, in a word, that the President shall become, in effect, the general manager of the government corporation. As such his relations and responsibilities to the several de- partments will be analogous to those of the heads of departments to the subordingce services comprehended Dby such departments. The obligation will thus rest upon him of keeping himself in‘armed in respect to organi- zation, acuvities and needs of these several departments, of taking the action necessary to insure that all a in Silver Threads in Tea Considered | As Source of Strength, Consul Says Silver threads among the gold mean good tea. The tiny, silvery hairs in your orange pekoe tea and the small white pleces which look like stems are not something which should npt be there, but are really the things which give orange pekoe its delicious flavor. The tea plant constantly throws out new shoots at the end of each twig and the leafbud, which is juse unfolding, together with the small leaf mext to it, produces the fnest quality ef tea; the leaf at the end of the small branch being the best of all, and the quality of the leaves of the lower twigs of the branch becoming poorer in proportion to their proximity to the trunk, says Consul C. L. Hoover, Batavia, in a report to the Department of Com- meroe. These first two leaves are covered , with fine hairs, which, when the leaf is gried, give a silvery appearance to | the | vides TO HELP are working in harmony with each other, of settling such disputes as may arise between them in respect to their several jurisdictions and, gen- erally. of doing those things which will insure a smooth working of the several parts of the administrative machine Source of Information. i “If the President is to perform these duties, it Is evident that means must be provided by which he can currently keep in touch with the operation of the departments and their several needs. Information of this kind is to be secured only by the organization of a system of records and accounts and the requ!remenu«l of periodical reports of operations and financial transactions that will enable him from day to day, week to week, or month to month, to deter- mine how administrative affairs are being conducted and obligations are being met. In addition, he must have the means by which he can make such special investigation or inquiries into the organization and operations of particular services as circum- stances may require “It is imperative, therefore, that he shall be provided with technical as- sistance that will enable him to do this work. This assistance should take the form of the creation of a special service, to be known as the bureau of general administration, which should be attached directly to the office of the President and be the agency through which he may dis-| charge his dutics as general manager. “It should be made perfectly clear that the bureau as such should %e given no powers of its own. All grant of powers respect to the control of the administrative services { should be made to the chief executive. The bureau should be made merely the executive agency of the chief ex- ecutive through which the latter exercises these powe Everything that it does will, therefore, be done in pursuance of orders or authorizations Ziven to it by the chief executive. | Burecau Not Executive. “It should be made equally clear that the bureau has no responsibili- from the executive standpoint Its funciion, acting on behalf of the chief executive, should be solely those of formulating the general rules and regulations governing administrative matters which the chief executive is authorized to issue, and of seeing that these rules and regulations are put into effect. and of examining and compiling the data called for in order that the chief executive may, with a minimum of labor, and a maximum of knowledge, take the action which the information so secured calls for. “If the President is given a bureau of gencral administration, such as is here outlined, he will have two sub- ordinate services to assist him in the performance of his duties—the office of his present secretary. which will attend to all his duties of a zcneral | and political character, and the new bureau of general administra which will attend to his dutie purely administrative character.” Since the budget and accounting act has gone into effect W. F. Wil- | loughby, director of the institute, has emphasized that while the bureau of budget is made a bureau of the Treasury Department. the law pro- that the President shail pre- scribe in general terms the regula- tions under which the bureau shall operate. Throughout the law the bureau is recognized as the direct agency of the President in all matters connected with the estimates for the support of the government. Even appointments are made and the com- pensation of employees fixed by the director of the bureau. Result of Compromise, This rather anomalous situation of a bureau in an executive department acting dirgetly as the agent of the President is the result of a compro- mise between the House and the Sen- ate. The bill as it passed the House provided that the. bureau should be attached to the executlve office; the Senate amended it to make the bureau an integral part of the Treasury De- partment. While the Secretary of the Treasury is given no direct control over the operations of the bureau of the budget, the mere fact that it is institutionally a part of his depart- ment gives him a certain amount of influence over its activities. While it is not vital to the operation of the bureau of the budget that it be placed directly under the President, it is be- lieved that better results will be achieved if the Treasury Department has no administrative connection with this organization. “There is certainly no danger of a loss in efficiency, and it is not unlikely that under many | circumstances better results will fol- " sars Dr. Willoughby, speaking of a low,” for the Institute for Government Re- search. name ‘“Pekoe,” the Chinese “Pak ho" meaning “white This tea produces an orange beverage, hence the name “orange pekoe” The small white pieces, which look like stems, are not stems at all, but the very finest part of the leaf, the tip, and tea made from them is very strong and has the most deli- cate aroma. The dried tea leaves are graded by women who screen the tea by placing it in a flat tray made of woven bamboo and throwing it deftly into the air until all the lightest leaves are on top. The lighter ‘tea is the last to come down and after carefully working the tray load to the point where all the leaves of the same quality are on top, the tray is quickly withdrawn from beneath the light leaves, which fall into another tray at the feet of the woman who is doing the fanning. The heavy tea is then tossed into the tray of the words hairs.” colored next woman who submits it to still rhetea.and.from this comes the trade | further manipulation. EDITORIAL SECTION Che Sunflny Star, WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 5, 1923. When Mrs. Harding Leaves White House She Will Go Into a World of Emptiness BY ROBERT T. SMALL. HEN the brief period of her mourning in the White House is ended, Mrs. War- ren G. Harding will go out into what will be for her an all but empty world. Of near relatives she has left only two brothers, who live in Marion, and two grandchildren— Jean De Wolfe, aged fourteen, and George, aged eleven, the children of Marshall Kugene De Wolfe, a son by her first marriage. The world will be empty for Flor- ence Harding, because her chief mis- sion in it is gone. There is nothing more that she can do for “Warren Harding,” as she always referred to him.. While Washington feels the loss of President Harding with keen- est grief, its heart goes out to the wife, who played her role of help- fulness unto the very end. It was more than fitting that Mr. Harding should have died as “the duchess’ reading to him. That was the final touch. sat ¥ ok k¥ Warren Harding leaned on “the duchess,” as he affectionately called her, as no President ever has de- pended upon his wife. It has seemed to Washington that Mrs. Harding was an integral part of the presidency, of the entire Harding administration For thirty-three years Mrs. Harding had devoted herself to the upbuilding | of her husband and his interests. Just as she scemed to be a part of the presidency here. so in Marion her life was as much intertwined with the history of the Marion Star as was that of the late President himself. Fof some cighteen vears she labored in the offices of the Star, giving up the task only when frail health made it absolutely necessary Few persons who have at her wonderful energy, her never- flagging enthusiasm, her power of will, have realized that for fifteen years she has been in a condition of health which would have sent a woman of less courage, of less de- termination, to an invalid's bed. But Mrs. Harding has been a fighter—all her life. And she was fighting | ington |oved Mrs |ington friends—friends that did not marveled | vallantly for her stricken husband when he died. * kX X It was characteristic of Mrs. Hard- ing*that she should have said at San Francisco: “I will not break down; don't worry about me.” There was still a duty ahead. “Warren Harding” must be got back to Washington; there was still the solemn pomp and pageantry of a state funeral to be gone through with. There was still something to be done for Warren—the last that mortal hands may do. The fight was not ended for “the duchess.” ‘When it is all over, however; when the last rites shall have been conclud- ed in the sorrowing little city of Marion, what, then, will “the duchess do? What will be her state of mind? What will be the plans of probably the most lonesome widow the world has ever known? aplenty, friends who are devoted to her in an unusual degree, for Mrs. Harding was a woman's woman, just as she was always at home, and thrice (welcome in the society of the Presi- dent’s own circle of “pals * % % The future life of Mrs. Harding is difficult to speculate upon. Her life ambition was the success of her hus- band. With his career ended, she may &0 back to the little home in Marion and spend the rest of her allotted time among the old friends and the associations of the front-porch cam- paign. which carried Warren Hard- ing to the White House. On ‘the other hand, Mrs. Harding has liked Wash- immensely. She -liked it be- cause her husband liked it, and it was understood that both of them had planned to spend most of their time here when the White House term was Harding has many Wash- come with the prestige of the White House, but who date back to the days when Mr. Harding was in the Senate 1t is easily within the range of pos- sibility that Mrs. Harding may reside here. Probably she has given no thought to a future which does not include him whom she loved best Since the recent sale of the Star, President Harding was rated CUBAN LOTTERY CAUSING Gambling Institution Retained Despite Gen. Crowder’s Advice Compared to U. S. Spoils System. BY FREDERI ORE w once Crowder went Cuba in January, 1921, the pos- sibility of a third American intervention in the island has loomed as a possibility. The acrimonious circumstances under which Gen. Crowder is now returning from Havana are bound to revive the thought, repugnant as it is alike to the United States and to Cuba. Article IT of the Platt amendment virtually makes us responsible for the maintenance of a sound financial sys- tem in Cuba and theoretically em- powers us to resort to extremes, if necessary, to impose it. A situation might easily arise to justify a repeti- tion of the so-called Roosevelt- Magoon “intervention,” undertaken in 1906 for the purpose of putting Cuba’s election system on an honest and efficient basis. AM WILE. than since to Lottery Cauwes Crisis. The perpetuation of the Cuban na- tional lottery, advice of the United States, was voted by the Cuban congress because of the lottery’s importance for purely political purposes. The lottery in Cuba is the great, traditional source of batronage. Presidents of the island republic distribute the numerous ad- ministrative jobs connected with the lottery much as Presidents of the United States, by ancient custom, dis- pense federal plums. The outstanding difference is that in Cuba the lottery patronage is honeycombed with graft. The so- called ‘“colectoria” posts in every nook and cranny of the island are eagerly sought. It is not uncommon for them to pay as much as $3,000 to $5,000 a year, which is a princely income in Cuba. Gambling in lottery tickets is the national passion. The patronage appointee, who controls the distribution of a block or several blocks of tickets, which are ordinarily sold at big premiums, enjoys a certain and substantial income. The “colectoria” appointments in the larger districts go to favorite henchme nof the president—some- thing of the sort of special favor bestowed by our chief executives on deserving partisans who are awarded foreign ambassadorships, The smaller fry party hangers-on of the local boss type or ward-hgel against the wish and ler fraternity get their share of the “coleotoria™ booty in the ratio of their importance in the party machine. Like Our Spoils System. It is because of the all-pervading character of the national lottery that the Cuban congress—filled with poli- ticians, like our own Congress—in- sisted that the system should be maintained. In a way, the political existence of members of the Cuban congress depends on the “colectoria” institution. To ask them to put it out of business would be equivalent to asking our Congress to legislate federal patronage out of existence. 1t Americans will imagine the hue and ery such a revolutionary proposal would evoke throughout the United States they will be able to under- stand why the congress of Cuba re- Gen. | |and his enacted the lottery law over the veto oi President Zayas. nor who has at all points co-operated with Gen. Crowder in the effort to put Cuba’s financial and political house in order, was undoubtedly influenced by the American Ambassador's views on the lottery. There are many Cubans—among them was President Zayas himself at one time—who favored retention of the natfonal lottery on legitimate budget grounds. Senor Zayas was anxious tp maintain It, after putting it on a clean business basis, in order that Cuba might continue to derive from ticket sales the considerable revenues, from which schools, hos- pitals, sanitation and other public utilities largely were financed Hoped to End Graft. Zayas hoped that graft could be eliminated and the lottery operated without remaining, as it long has been, the chief source of political corruption in Cuba. Evidently both the liga nacional, to which Zayas cabinet belong, as well as the liberal opposition, combined in congress to re-enact the lottery law after Zayas, presumably under Ameri- can influence, decided to oppose it. Gen. Crowder first was sent to Ha- vana on his present mission in the last months of President Wilson's ad- ministration. Thirteen years pre- vious, in 1908, he went there, at the direction of President Roosevelt, to put into operation the new so-called Crowder electoral law, by which the island’s election system was purged and modernized. A year or two ago both political parties united to nullify the wholesome effects of the Crowder. law by passing an amendment cloth- ing the party executive ‘committees with power to override the will of the people as registered at the polls. One of the principal arguments utilized by the pro-lottery parties is that if Cubans are denled the oppor- tunity to invest in domestic lottery tickets they will buy them abroad, thus depriving the Havana treasury of vast revenue. But the real attrac- tion of the lottery is its value to the professional politicians and corrup- tionists, who, crying “American in- tervention,” use that slogan as a means of perpetuating Cuba’s na- tional gambling institution. Bonaparte Still Fascinates. From the New Haven Journal-Courier. An electrical engineer of Char- lottesville, Va., who recently died, left to Princeton University a collec- tion of 3,000 volumes having to do with the French revolution and Na- poleon. There is an era in nearly every man’s life when he reads this chapter in world history .intensively. The fascination of Bonapaite is persis- tent. The Yale senior class recently rated him at or near the head of their favorite characters. It is presum- ably the'dramatic quality in the man; just as people troop to the playhouse, 50 they divert themselves in reading of a great actor. The emotion can- not be called admiration—men su- premely admire Washington and . Lin- coln, but none ever called them “ac- Marion | Zayas.| She has friends | | 1 1 | ! | I |of | shocking condition. as possibly the wealthiest man ever to occupy, the White House. Virtually all of his fortune will go to Mrs. Harding. The sale of the Star made it necessary for the President to write a new will just before starting on the trip to Alaska. This act was in no sense a premonition of the disaster on the part of the President. The Harding estate should amount to at least $500,000. In addition to that, Mrs. Harding has a personal fortune of probably $100,000, left to her by her father. * % ¥ * That fatther was Amos H. Kling, who was reckoned in his day the wealthiest man in Marion county Successful in business, he had taken up banking and became the president of the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank, later known as the Marion National. Mr. Kling became a power in the af- fairs, not only of Marion, but of all that part of Ohio. His political in- fluence also was extensive In many ways predominant traits and characteristics of the father wer. reflected in the daughter. While not inclined to be autocratic as he, she has always possessed his aggressive- ness, ambition, forcefulness and shrewd judgment. Probably her greatest inheritance from her father was his remarkable business ability. It supplied a qual- ity which was lacking in the edi- torially minded Warren Harding as he struggled to build up his little re- publican paper. N Although married previously to Marshall De Wolfe of Marion, her friends did not believe that real"love came to Florence Kling until she met | young Warren Harding in the midst his struggles with the weekly newspaper of the village. Disappoint- ed in her first marriage, the father opposed a further early venture into matrimony again she exhibited some of the traits of independence and determination which had been handed down to her by the protesting parent himself. She married Warren Harding, and for a time there was an estrangement with COLLAPSE IN NEW INTERVENTION TALK for his daughter, but here | her family. But that was quickly over and Florence Kling proved her own good judgment, her own vision, by marching beside and upward with the busband who was to become the twenty-ninth President of the United States. Her life history is one of America's greatest romances Shortly after her marriage Mrs. Harding plunged into the affairs of her husband's weekly. She managed it well and before a great many years the Star had developed into a small dafly. it had a successful democratic paper to combat in the field and for quite a while the struggle was about an even one. Then came the Spanish- American war. It was Mrs. Harding who had most to do with obtaining a complete direct wire press report, the first ever received in Marion That was the turning point. Success came in waves. The business was larger than the Hardings had ever dared to dream of. Through all those years Florence Harding spent her d the office, counted out papers for the newsboys, directed the deliveries and street sales, saw to the purchases and saw that collections were made time. Many of the sboys who beught their papers from Mrs. Hard- ing are among those today whose grief for her is greatest. * ko ox s at An interesting incident took place |during the presidential campaign, when the “Florence Harding News- boys' Association” visited the Harding front porch. There was a most en- joyable visit and various group pic- tures were taken, with Mr. and Mrs Harding in the center. Then Mrs. Harding singled out three of the men and laughingly insisted that she have her picture taken with the “boys” she had spanked when they were Star carriers and she was circulation manager. | Although President Harding was | Baptist and she attended services with him, Mrs. Harding retained her mem- {bership in the Epworth Methodist | Episcopal Church in Marion. She was also a_member of the Twigs and Advance Clubs of Marion. Her brothers are Clifford B. Kling and ‘\'_:_ga]hs H. Kling, the latter known as HUNGARY BELIEVED THREATENING Internal Prosperity Offset by Mad Race of Currency to Low BY F. CUNLIFFE-OWEN, C. E. E. OMETIMES prosperity spells dis:. aster. In Hungary her various industries are showing every- where signs of the most wop- derful revival. Her harvests give promise of proving the very largest in twelve or fifteen years, and over and above the grain which she needs for domestic consumption she will have at least 130,000 tons for export as well as 50,000 tons of sugar for the foreign markets. while her oil re- fineries are working day and night and doing a splendid business. Under ordinary circumstances this condition of affairs would be re- garded as of a nature to promote peace at home and abroad and to in- spire credit in the stability of the government. But quite the reverse is the case. The state finances are in a The Magyar kro- nen seems to be running a neck-to- neck race with the German marks as to which can reach the lowest ebbg and Lord Curzon made it clear in parliament the other day that unle: the great powers were willing to go to the assistance of the Hungarian government with foreign loans, such as have been accorded to Austria with such advantage through the league of nations, Hungary was in danger of a complete collapse, the overthrow of her government, and probably a revival of that red terror- ism of the communist Belax Kun, to whose boishevist regime Count Mich- ael Karolyi surrendered the dictator- ship ‘when he realized that he was powerless in the face of the execra- tion of his fellow-countrymen to maintain himself in the position of supreme authority, to obtain which he had contributed, more than any one else, to the downfall of Emperor Charles. Necessities Are Pressing. Hungary's necessities. are: of the most pressing character. Her govern- ment has reached the end of its re- sources, her treasury is empty, and as the international commission of reparations, organized by the en- tente, had, by virture of Article 180 of the treaty of Versailles, the first charge upon all her assets and reve- nues, -no one is willing to loan her any money. Her preferred creditors are Roumania, Poland, Serbia and Czechoslovakia, especlally the first three, Who suffered cruelly through the devastation wrought in their re- spective territories by the Magyar troops in the great war. The fact of the matter is that until now all the powers of the little en- tente have looked upon Hungary as a standing menace to their exist- ence, as reactionary, as aggressive, and as bent on recovering her former territories at their expense. They are convinced that if placed once more on her financial feet Hungary would take advantage thereof to re-estab- lish the monarchy, which, de jure, has really never ceased to exist, since Hupgary claims to be still subject to the sacred crown of St. Stephen, and Admiral von Horthy, the actual ruler, is merely the temporary regent of the kingdom in the absence of his sovereign. < Before the powers of he so-calied and Surplus Crops Levels. little entente will waive their objec- tions in the preferred payment of the money due to them by Hungary under the head of reparations, and thus re- move the obstacles in the way of the great powers lending her a helping hand by means of loans directly or through the league of nations, or through their respective money mar- kets, she will have to furnish satis- factory guarantee to the effect that she will not lend herself to any restoration of the Hapsburgs; that she Will abstain from any attack on her neighbors and from any effort to alter the political frontiers of central Eu- rope; likewise that she will vigor- ously suppress and punish any border disturbances; that she will maintain law and order and protection to all alike in the country subject to her rule, and that she will endeavor to restore healthy economic conditions in the kingdom. Now, popular sentiment in Hungary. in the face of the rapidly improving conditions of industry and trade and the consequent atmosphere of pros- perity, despite the downward trend of the kronen and the in the national treasury, does not appreciate the necessity of sacrificing so much of her independence to her hated neighbors of the little entente in or- der to secure their sanction and ap- proval of a Magyar loan by the great powers vacuum Violent Against Jews. About the only subjects upon which the Magyar reactionaries and the radicals are united is in their hos- tility to the powers of the little en- tente and their anti-Semitic preju- dices. Jewish citizens are being driven by violence and sanguinary disturbances from schools, universi- ties and public resorts, while foreign Jews are being expelled for no other reason than their creed and race. In- deed, the so-called “white terror,” the feature of whose activities is the Sup- pression of the Hebrews and their elimination from every sphere of Magyar life for the so-called “pro- tection of Hungarian patriots” is in full swing, and just as bold in its defiance of the government authori- ties as were the fascisti in Italy: Yet it is not while this anti-Semitism is permitted to thrive and to plunder and, terrorize in Hungary that the latter can expect to find any cordial response to her appeal to the money markets of Paris, London or New York. Quite naturally, the strained rela- tions which have lately developed be- tween the Poincare cabinet in Paris and the Stanley Baldwin administra- tion in London on the subject of the Ruhr have not contributed to help matters with regard to Hungary. For, ‘whereas on the banks of the Thames the conviction of the urgent neces- sity of affording financial assistance to the Magyar government is so pro- nounced that when the Czechoslo- vakian foreign minister, Doctor Bennes, visited London the other day for the purpose of securing the second installment of the Czech loan, which had been floated in England with the approval of the cabinet, he was se- verely taken to task af the foreign office by Lord Curzon, by Premier Baldwin and by Lord Revelstoke for the role assumed by the Prague gov- ernment 1h connection with the Hun- | { i i { bankers, SAY CAPPER-TINCHER LAW LOWERED PRICE OF GRAIN Market Observers Claim the Placing of Exchanges Under Federal Supervision Eliminated Speculative Buying. BY ROBERT H. MOULTON. AS the operation of Capper-Tincher grain tures act, which places grain exchanges United States under government su- pery been responsible for the tremendous drop in the price of wheat during the last three months? Market observers and editorial writers in the grain belt have been unanimous in declaring that it has They say that the great uncertainty created by the new law during the first month of its operation resulted in driving the speculative public from the market almost completely. Since that time other elements have entered into the conditions now obtaining On, April 26 last May wheat sold on the Chicago Board of Trade at $1.27 a bushel, an advance of approxi- mately cents a bushel from the low price of the preceding year on this delivery. and seemed definitely headed upward, the outlook for domestic and foreign crops and the known consumptive demand of the world suggesting an ultimate price of $1.50 or more. the fu- the of the on, Alleged Effect of New Law. arly in May the grain futures act became effective on the board of trade and almost at once a selling move- ment started. By the middle of July prices for all deliverics of wheat had dropped helow the dollar mark values being lower than at any time since before the war. At the present writing prices are still below one dollar. In an effort to allay the fears of the speculative public and to correct the general misunderstanding which seemed to exist regarding the new law. the Secretary of Agriculture early in May issued a statement to the effect that the law, so far from put- ting the exchanges out of busines as had been reported, did not in any way interfere with their usual func- tions, nor did it interfere with hedg- ing transactions with ordinary speculation in the buying ang selling of grain for future delivery; in other words. there was no limit on the quantity of wheat or other grain which might be bought or sold for future delivery. But in spite of re- peated assurances by the exchanges. and in spite of attempts by the fed- eral Department of Agriculture to en- courage normal use of the grain fu- tures market, wheat prices continued to decline. The situation was not improved when, early in June, the Secretary of Agriculture made a call upon all board of trade firms for the names of their customers having open counts, whether long or short, 200,000 bushels of wheat. This re- sulteg in the dumping of large quan- tities of long wheat on the market and another big drop in prices. or False Impression Created. The impression gained was that the Secretary of Agriculture, given power | to make rules and regulations for the execution of the grain futures act, had made an interpretation of what he considered undue speculation or manipulation, and that interpretation appeared to be that when trader was disposed to operate on even a moderat scale, it was inferable that he had started in to corner the mar- ket or to manipulate the price. The object of the regulation, of course, is to prevent corners, but 200,000 bushels of wheat is about enough to keep a Minneapolis mill running - twenty- four hours. Farmers are now having an object lesson of the value to them of a free market for future trading. The fu- ture traders, whom the politicians call “gamblers,” alw: have carried the risks of the wheat market. BEvi- dently they are not now anxious to do so when a very moderate deal would require that their names Re sent to the government representa- tive. who might question their mo- tives and subject them to discipline. When the price of wheat seemed definitely headed for the dollar mark. not onl the wheat growers of the country, but leaders in all lines of industry which are directly er directly affected by the success a in- or failure of the farmer became thor- | oughly aroused by the danger of the situation. All sorts of measures were resorted to in an effort to hold up the price of wheat. One of these measures was the calling of a na- tional wheat conference by Gov. J. A. O. Preus of Minnesota. June 19-21, governors of several states, farmers, millers, rail magnates, labor leaders. grain exchange interests and others met at Ol ago and en- deavored to arrive at a solution of the problem, Wheat Surpius Advertised. Unfortunately, the only thing ac- complished by the conference was the persistent advertising to the world that there was a wheat surplus of 173,000,000 bushels in the United States. The best statisticians had been unable to find a surplus of more than 100,000,000 bushels. Increasing the surplus by 73.000,000 bushels is a serious matter and has a direct and important effect upon prices. The immediate result of the propaganda | of the wheat conference leaders was a further decline of 5 cents a bushel in the price of wheat within the three days following the arrival of the con- ferees In_ Chicago. The Capper-Tincher grain futures act was supported by the “farm bloc™ upon the theory that it would restrict speculation and that speculation tends to lower prices. On the other hand. the Attorney General of the United States not long ago brought an ac- tion against the Coffee and Sugar Ex- change of New York to restrain fu- ture trading in sugar, on the ground that the operations were speculative and tendeq to put up prices. In both cases the complainants were attack- ing the facilities for trading because of popular displeasures over recent movements of prices. The result of rogtricting the exchanges is as ot | I ! | newspaper ting of his crop nine } count shown by the action of wheat during the last three months. to reduce the number of buyers and sellers and throw the trading into private chan- nels, a result favorable rather than unafoverable to manipulation. The petition against the coffee and gar exchange denied, but the action inbbringing it was disturbing to all the commodity markets which public exchanges are main- tained. Tt is regarded as another symptom of the popular disposition to introduce governmental authority in ordinary business affairs. without knowledge of the cconomic condition involved or the harmful effects was in Charge Pressed by Critics. Critics of the grain exchanges have pressed the charge that the is regularly depressed at ha vest time and immediately following, until the crop has been bought 1 speculators, and that later the is advanced unduly. affording speculators large and profit Among others to make this charge on numerous occasions has been Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas, who probably been louder in his denuncia tion of the grain exchanges than any other individual, living or dead. 1In this connection it is interesting and significant to note the following in the editorial columns of a recent ue of the Topeka Capital published Senato wheat price the easy a Daily by Capper: “Incidentally report exposes the pretty widespread the cffect that the clls at the low price Economists have shown Secretary Wallace's error to wheat grower always s of the vear. the fallacy of this opinion, but man half-informed writers on farm ques tions keep on repeating it. One-half the wheat crop of the United States passes out of the growers’ hands dur- ing the three months of July, August and September. It is not true that these are the months of low price There is. in fact, no reason why thex should be, for while the Americar crop comes on at this wheat is the most universal srown in the world and there harvest season in a world sen every month of the year somewlicre is a harvest month for wheat vet crop is e. season, What the Report Shows. “The report shows that for the last ten years the average price in July been higher than in March February, and the average price in August higher than in October, No- vember or January. The average September price is higher than Janu- ary, October or November. The high months, however, are May and June and in these months for the last ten years wheat has been 10 cents, on the average. higher than in harves months the United States. They are two tinal months of the crop year and if the farmer held his crop to sell May or June his holding charges would leave him probably a net price no greater than he receives by dispos- or ten month earlier. Wheat, it must be said altogether the best marketed farn product. the machinery for marketing it is the most complete and it ops ates more smoothly and ec than other product soil.” In view of the foregoing. the ques tion naturally arises if Senator Cap- per has not seen in the law which he fathered, not a panacea for all the farmers’ ills, but a boomerang which has cost the wheat growers of the something like $200,000,000 during the last three months. Present Price in Kansas, At the present selling in Kansas wheat states, for 3 bushel, which is less than it cost grow it without counting in the farmer’s labor. and agriculture is in a bad financially The grower of wheat exclsively, with his eggs all in one baxket. has been mendous smash by the drop in prices and the great wheat belt is a region of deep gloom. Kansas farmers, to all appearances, are now ‘razzing the “farm bloc.” Discontent is gen- eral, but in Kansas it seems to be a lap or two ahead of Minnesota, and out in the tall grass the natives are quietly panning the “professional friends of the farme There is no seething. boiling un rest: nothing that resembles remote ly communism, bolshevism, anarchism, extremism, but the farmers are ing that much of the stuff that heralded as panaceas has proved be nothing but snake medicine Lexson May Be Worth the Price. has or in in onomicall in any of the a writing wheat s one of the largest about 73 cents a to way hit a tre- = was to Thus, while the decline in the orice of wheat has come a shock to many who have been looking and hoping for an increased purchasing power for the farmer—a condition that would be most desirable—th price may, nevertheless, own compensation in another way Radicals have been able to sway the farmer and have been carried into office on a wave of discontent; they have been preaching an unsound doc- trine; they have convinced the farmer that they can change economic laws by an act of Congress; they have ob- tained the enactment of many laws with that end in view. If the farmer will Become convinced that economic laws are beyond the power of Con- gress, the lesson will be worth the enormous price he is paying. e Romantic Forest Goes. From the Los Angeles Times. One by one the picturesque haunts of romance are falling before th: needs of a commercial-minded world Who will not heave a sigh to learn as that Sherwood Forest, where Robin Hood and his merry band abided, i to be destroyed to supply coal? tingham county is rich in coal de- posits, and it is estimated that 10,- (100,000 tons & year can be taken from 8 Blstoric locallty. 4